1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the dispensing of tablets and, more particularly, to a tablet dispenser facilitating sequential dispensing of pharmaceutical tablets.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
There have been many attempts in the prior art to provide tablet dispensers facilitating the sequential dispensing of pharmaceutical tablets in chronological order, as exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,437,236, 3,450,252, 3,533,371, 3,557,747, 3,570,707 and 3,572,282. Such tablet dispensers are primarily utilized to dispense birth control or oral contraceptive preparations in that such preparations are required to be taken on a daily regimen. The prior art tablet dispensers, as exemplified above, have suffered from one or more of the disadvantages of utilizing a relatively large number of intricately formed parts, therefore, increasing cost of manufacture, requiring cumbersome manipulation of tablets by the user in order to fill the dispensers, and having complex indicia viewing structure to permit the user to determine whether there has been any variation from the daily regimen.
In order to facilitate placement and refilling of tablets in dispensers, it has been proposed to utilize tablet packages in the form of "blister packs" wherein the tablets are supported by a frangible material, such as aluminum foil. U.S. Pat. No. 3,279,651 is exemplary of a tablet dispenser utilizing a tablet "blister pack", the tablets each being dispensed through a corresponding opening in the housing of the dispenser by relative rotation of parts of the housing. The rotation required for dispensing increases the cost of manufacture of the tablet dispenser and presents a problem with respect to the displaying of indicia to a user to indicate a daily regimen. In the tablet dispenser of U.S. Pat. No. 3,651,927, tablet packages in the form of "blister packs" are used, and tablets are dispensed by pressure applied by the finger of a user to force the tablets through annularly arranged apertures in the dispenser housing. The tablet dispenser of this patent, thus, does not require rotation for dispensing; however, the housing must be opened in order to dispense a tablet. Accordingly, while the prior art has recognized the advantages of the use of tablet blister packs, the prior art tablet dispensers for use therewith have not provided simplified dispensing and inexpensive manufacture.